Africa Watch
Political Crisis in Mali: Uneasy Present, Uncertain Future

By : Samir Bhattacharya

Page No: 232-257

Abstract
The security situation in the West African state of Mali started to deteriorate in 2011 when the separatist group MNLA and Islamists took control of the country’s north and imposed Shariah. Since 2013, France has been the principal security provider against Islamist militants, though US, EU and ECOWAS have also been supporting the Malian national forces. The civilian regime, however, faced growing internal opposition and popular protests, and this led to two back-to back coups by the military in the past two years. Immediately after the second coup in 2021, France decided to pull out its troops from Mali. While many scholars hold climate change responsible for the increasing conflicts in the region, there is little evidence to prove this. Instead, the problem is rooted in the weakness of the State to govern, exercise sovereignty over the entire territory, and provide adequate security to the people. This has led to dependence on external powers. With a heterogeneous mix of Islamists, separatists and ethnic militias fighting both the civilian and military regimes, Mali has become a tinderbox and can explode at any time. Unless France and the international community recalibrate their relationship with Mali, we could witness a repeat of an Afghanistan-like collapse.

Author : 
Samir Bhattacharya is a Research Associate at the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), specialising in African studies. He is pursuing a PhD on India-Africa economic relations from the School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi. In addition to Africa, his research interests include climate politics, international trade and multilateral institutions